After trying to get through my TBR pile I
found myself in a bit of a reading slump, so my partner suggested that he pick
a book for me from his section of the bookcase. This resulted in me stepping
out of my comfort zone and reading something I normally wouldn’t even consider.
Strike Back starts with a Prologue set in
1989 that introduces us to John
Porter a Sergeant in the British Special Air Service (SAS), often referred to
in the book as “The Regiment”. He has just received a telegram informing him of
the birth of his daughter back home while he is stationed in the Mediterranean.
Although the prologue does a good job of
introducing us to the main character and gives us a fair amount of background
which we are able to draw upon later to explain the decisions John makes and understand
his reactions, I found it really dragged and almost decided to stop reading the
book because of it. However, I powered through and found that when I made it
through the first couple of chapters proper the book got much more enjoyable.
After the prologue we jump to the present
day (set in 2006) and John is living rough on the streets of London. He is an
alcoholic scraping together whatever he can just to buy another bottle of vodka,
attempting to find a couple of hours work washing dishes in restaurants and
hotel kitchens. It’s when he’s walking through one of these hotel lobbies that
he catches the television and he sees that a Sky News reporter Katie Dartmouth has
been captured by Hezbollah fighters in the Lebanon.
This ties in with Johns past and he
realises he is the only one who stands a fighting chance of getting her out
alive. Leading him to walk straight into the arms of his former employers,
having to convince them of his credibility and his ability.
I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed
this book especially with it being something I wouldn’t have chosen for myself.
It was slow to start but after the prologue it was fairly easy to get through
and despite touching on some darker themes such as homelessness, addiction and
terrorism it was very enjoyable. There weren’t really any dull spots going
through it and it was quite refreshing to read something a bit different.
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